DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 418 818 RC 020 821

TITLE Ikopesni Ihanbla Po: Dare To Dream. Oglala Lakota College:25 Years.

INSTITUTION Oglala Lakota Coll., Kyle, SD.PUB DATE 1996-00-00NOTE 24p.; Colored photographs and illustrations may not

reproduce well.PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141)EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *American Indian Education; American Indian Reservations;

College Programs; *College Role; Higher Education;*Institutional Mission; *Oglala Sioux (Tribe); SmallColleges; Tribally Controlled Education

IDENTIFIERS Institutional History; *Oglala Lakota College SD

ABSTRACTThe mission of the Oglala Lakota College is to establish and

operate certificate- and degree-granting postsecondary institutions on PineRidge Reservation. The purposes of the college include tribal, cultural,academic, and community concerns. This booklet presents the 25-year historyof the college; the historical struggle of the Lakota (Sioux) people; and thedream to provide an independent, reservation-based college. The realizationof the dream came in 1971 when 19 courses in 9 subjects were taught in localschools and peoples' basements. In 1978, 2-year degree programs were offeredin seven areas of study. In 1996 the college offered a Master of Arts inLakota Leadership/Management, a Bachelor of Science degree in fiveprofessions, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Lakota Studies and History, fourAssociate of Applied Science degrees, and 15 Associate of Arts degrees. Otherprograms included secondary education certification, special educationendorsement, Child Development Associate, General Equivalency Diploma (GED),and graduate courses in education. Twenty-two quotations from college facultyand staff show the impact of the college on the Lakota community. The collegehas 10 dreams for the future: construction of a resource center, classrooms,and community learning centers; development of degree programs inenvironmental and computer sciences; creation of endowed chairs in Lakotastudies; student assessment; certification in education and health;integration of resources; expansion of student resources; creation of acompetency-based teacher education program; and development of research,consulting, and training services. Challenges include funding andtransportation. By the year 2001, the college envisions increased enrollment,completed campus construction projects, expanded degree programs, andcomputerized status of campus activities. Includes four Lakota poems. (SAS)

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Letter from Our President 1

Our Mission 2

Our Struggle 3

Our Dream 6

Our. Dream Realized 8

Our Voices 10

Our People 12

Our Dreams for the Future 16

Our Challenge 18

Our Vision _19

Mitakuyepi,

I begin this letter with the word Mitakuyepi which means my relatives.Lakota people end all prayers with the words Mitakuye Oyasin whichmean we are all related. The 25 year history of Oglala Lakota Collegeshows how much can happen when our Lakota people work with otherrelatives. Without the support of thousands of people around the coun-try, the College might not have made it to 25 years. The booklet showswhat can happen when our people dream despite tremendous odds.

This booklet is a history of the college, our struggle, our people's dream,our deep needs, our ongoing challenge and a vision of our future. Thetitle Ikopesni Ihanbla Po is literally translated don't be afraid to dream orhave vision. This phrase is familiar to Lakota children since grandparentsare always saying it to them. It's appropriate for the people who startedOglala Lakota College 25 years ago.

This is a tale of the growing despair with education that the OglalaLakota felt in the late 60's and of the dream of a few to turn the dismalstatistics around. They dared to dream and were doubted by many andactually laughed at by University of South Dakota faculty at a meeting toplan the delivery of college courses on the reservation. A reservationbased college?

We'll tell how a varied group of people made the dream of a college cometrue. We'll try to give a flavor of who we are by quoting students, staffand board members and by sharing student writing. Our accomplish-ments will speak for themselves.

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Board of TrusteesTom Conroy, Jr.

Cordelia White ElkDora Brave

Pat Iron CloudLawrence JanisDennis BrewerJoe Red Cloud

Peter Red WillowCharles Conroy

Newton CummingsDelores Dreamer

Phoebe Bear Killer

4

We'll talk about our dreams andvisions for the future and what achallenge we have to make themcome true. We'll need the help of allour relatives.

As President of the Oglala SiouxCommunity College in the develop-ing 70's and of Oglala Lakota Collegein the exciting 90's, I'm proud toshare the story of our past 25 years.I pledge to not be afraid and to dareto dream despite the tremendousneeds we have and the awesomechallenges we face.

Thomas Shortbull, PresidentOglala Lakota CollegeMay 1. 1996

WS

Our MissionThe Mission of Oglala LakotaCollege is to establish and operatepostsecondary institutions on thereservation granting certificatesand degrees. This mission in-cludes a diverse range of educa-tion from community serviceofferings to graduate degrees. TheCollege will coordinate andregulate all higher education onthe Pine Ridge Reservation. Theultimate goal is the establishmentof a Lakota University.

The purposes articulated from themission and approved by theBoard of Trustees are: In carryingout the mission, the Oglala LakotaCollege Board of Trustees/stressesthe Lakota culture and Tribal self-determination. The Collegeprepares students to understandthe larger society as well as thecustoms and beliefs of the Lakotapeople. Working toward theseends, the College has defined asits purposes:

TribalTo provide the OglalaSioux Tribe, as a sovereignpeople, with educated andtrained human resourcesand personnel.To assist people in beingactive, productive mem-bers of their families,communities and theOglala Sioux Tribe.To provide the OglalaSioux Tribe with expertiseand information neededfor its development.To actively seek to placegraduates.

Cultural> To present the Lakota

cultural perspective inteaching within theacademic, occupationaland community programs.

> To promote study of theLakota culture as an areaof study in itself.

> To research, study anddisseminate Lakotalanguage, culture andphilosophy.

Academic> To maintain high aca-

demic standards for staffand students.

> To maintain open enroll-ments.

> To be accessible topotential students.

> To teach students thenecessary skills andhuman values which willassist them in fulfillingthemselves and making aproductive living.

> To work with otherinstitutions and agenciesin furthering the interestsof the College.

Community> To assist with the deter-

mination of developmentneeds of the reservationdistricts and communities.

> To assist the reservationdistricts and communitiesin furthering their goals.

> To provide continuing andcommunity education.

> To provide a sound, basiceducation for high schoolequivalency students.

Our StruggleThe Oglala are one of seventribes or bands of the GreatLakota (Sioux) Nation. Like otherLakotas (or Dakotas or Nakotasdepending on the dialect of thelanguage used by the group) wehave kept our cultural values andidentity alive through the strengthof kinship, the importance of theTribe and the ties to the land.

"A century ago the SiouxNation was a great nation. ,Jtsrealm reached from the PlatteRiver north to the -1-leant, fromthe Missouri west to the Big-Horn Mountains."

The Sioux Hassrick

Our people arrived on this planetin the Black Hills of South Dakotaand according to our history havelived on the great plains sincetime immemorial returning to theBlack Hills as our sacred center.Our creation story says that wewere originally members of the PteOyate (Buffalo Nation) and sharekinship with all living and nonliv-ing beings on Earth in an intricateand balanced web of life. Allbeings were respected for theirappropriate place in this web.

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"They were a peoplebeginning - with beliefs,ointment, language,fables, love of children(you will find this spokenof in all the books). Anda scheme of life thatworked"

A History of the Indians of theUnited States Angie Debo

In the early 1800's contact beganwith traders and trappers. Wemaintained our way of life al-though eastern bands beganhaving conflicts over land andwere starting to be given alcohol(which we had no experience with)to help ease the turnover of land.

"The agreement known as theFort Laramie Treaty of 1868confined Red Cloud and hispeople to the western half ofSouth Dakota in return forpromises of rations, annuities,agencies, schools, physicians,blacksmiths, teachers, etc. for anundetermined number of years.To this date, the .Lakota believe

that no land wasceded under the1868 treaty."

History of theOglala Lakota OyateRobert Gay

Fools Crow, the lateOglala holy man,bestows traditionalmark of honor on agraduate.

After gold was discovered andmore settlers moved west, thegovernment divided the GreatSioux Reservation into sevenseparate smaller reservations.All that was left of over 40 millionacres was a 50 by 90 mile reserva-tion. The Lakota, a proud and self-sufficient people, were reducedfrom the greatest horsemen andhunters in the world to depen-dence on government rations. TheU.S. Supreme Court has said of thetaking of the Black Hills, "A moreripe and rank case of dishonorabledealing will never in probability befound in our history."It is tragically ironic that thepeople who were promisededucation and medical services bytreaty from the U.S. governmentare the most poorly educated andhave the poorest health in the U.S.It is more tragically ironic that theproud people who were once self-sufficient and had no prisons andhad a society that took care ofeveryone, are now the poorestpeople in America. The 1980 and1990 U.S. Census show thatShannon County, which makes upthe majority of the Pine Ridgereservation, has the lowest percapita income in the country.Over the last 130 years we haveendured broken treaties, physicaland cultural genocide, imprison-ment on the reservation, the nearextinction of the buffalo, the theftof the Black Hills, the homestead-ing and allotment acts, and theprohibition of our religiousceremonies.We fared no better in the area ofeducation. A 1991 U.S. Depart-ment of Education Report, IndianNations At Risk, documents thefailures of the education systemas follows:

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> Schools have failed to nurturethe intellectual developmentand academic performance ofmany native children, evidentfrom the high dropout ratesand negative attitudes towardschool.

Schools have discouraged theuse of Native languages in theclassroom, thereby contribut-ing to a weakening of theNatives' resolve to retain andcontinue the development oftheir original languages andcultures

Indian lands and resources areconstantly besieged by outsideforces interested in furtherreducing their originalholdings

Political relationships betweenthe tribes and the federalgovernment fluctuate with thewill of the U.S. Congress anddecisions by the courts.

The wisdom of our elders gives ushope.

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"Throughout all of this, theOglala Sioux people maintainedtheir identity, customs, beliefsand attachment to the MotherGarth..""Tribal colleges are trulycommunity institutions. Afteryears of brutal physicalhardship and disorientingcultural loss, Native Americans

through the tribal collegeillovernent are building newcommunities based on sharedtraditions. They are challengingthe conditions that plague theirsocieties and continue tothreaten their survival."

Tribal Colleges: Shaping theFuture of Native America ErnestBoyer, former Secretary ofEducation

Our Dream"Oglala Lakota College's originis the convergence of twostreams which originidliecamefrom the same spring. Duringthe mid-60's several leaders ofthe Oglala Sioux Tribe on_thePine Ridge Reservation in.South Dakota began speakingout on the need for highereducation. These leadersexplored several options suck asthe educational component of theNew Careers Programprovided through a contract withthe University of Colorado inNovember, 1967."

"On the Pine Ridge reservationclueing this time there was agroup of young visionaries:Birgil Kills Straight, Gerald

One Feather, Gerald Clifford,and others who were willing totry new ideas, work with thecommunities, and challenge thefight grip exercised by theBureau Of Jnclian Affairs(82,A) on the reservation. Theyfelt the need to break the cycleof dependence the BjA hadbuilt. The problem reached intothe health, economic, andeducational systems and stifledindependent growth and tribalself-determination. The youngmen saw higher educationcontrolled on the community levelas a necessary ingredient inbreaking this cycle."

Tribal Community Colleges:Making Good Medicine WayneStein

In 1970 the Oglala Sioux TribalCouncil authorized planning for areservation based college. TribalChairman Gerald One Feather andmany others felt for the reserva-tion to truly make progress thetribe had to take control of itsaffairs in all areas. When the ideaof an independent, reservationbased college was first proposed,there were many skeptics both onand off the reservation. Thevisionaries persevered.On March 4, 1971 the OST Councilchartered the Lakota HigherEducation Center "to establish andoperate institutions grantingpostsecondary degrees and

certificates... and/or enter intoagreement with public or privateagencies to offer higher education...and to generally coordinate andregulate all higher education onthe Pine Ridge Reservation."

A Board of Trustees wasestablished that represented thevarious districts and communitiesof the reservation: Gerald OneFeather, White Clay/Wakpamni;Hattie Twiss, Pahin Sinte/Wounded Knee; Norman Rogers,Medicine Root/Eagle Nest; RayHowe, Lacreek/Pass Creek, AlmaJacobs, Pine Ridge Village. WeOglala had begun taking control ofour own higher education.

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Despite establishing control, theLakota Higher Education Center(as the College was called then)had to negotiate agreements withBlack Hills State College and theUniversity of South Dakota tooffer accredited courses transfer-able to state and other colleges.Our curriculum and degreeofferings were very limited.

"J taught English -I in theSpring of 1971 for the College.J had eight students from theages of 21 to 50. J taught in aclassroom at the local schooland had to carry class materialsaround in a cardboard box.had to beg supplies from theschool. Sometimes we werelocked out of class becausesomeone forgot to leave the dooropen. But there was a plus. Theenthusiasm of the students. Alleight finished the class."

Volunteer Instructor

The 1973 Wounded Knee Takeoverand political unrest split the reser-vation and violence abounded. TheCollege was actually padlocked bythe new Tribal Chairman. Classescontinued.Ray Howe was chosen as firstPresident of LHEC and we had ourfirst graduation in 1974. Thepolitics had settled down a bit.The first Board of Trustees waselected. Up until then the Boardhad been appointed.The College's administrationbuilding burned in 1975 and TomShortbull was chosen as thesecond President of LHEC.

"1-le ( Shortbull) managed tobring to L+-IEC the benefits ofthat ability in the form ofreplacement facilities, StateBoard of 'Regents cooperationon new ventures in curriculum,and federal dollars for thecollege."

Tribally Controlled CollegesWayne Stein

The Board of Trustees was restruc-tured to provide representationfrom all nine districts and theTribal Council in 1978. Beingrooted in the community has beenour greatest strength. That yearwe began the process for accredi-tation under the North CentralAssociation of Colleges andSchools and changed our name toOglala Sioux Community College.The next year Elgin Bad Woundwas chosen third OSCC President.The College moved to the new Piya\Viconi (New Life) administrationbuilding located outside of Kyle inthe center of the reservation.OSCC awarded our first Bachelor'sdegree in 1982 through an agree-ment with Black Hills StateCollege.

OSCC was accredited in 1983 bythe North Central Association atthe Associates level with allow-ance for a Bachelor's degree inElementary Education. That sameyear we changed OSCC's name toOglala Lakota College.

North Central approved otherBachelor's degrees in 1984 and theMasters in Lakota Leadership/Management in 1994.

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Our Dream RealizedIn the Springpf 1971 we offeredcourses in local schools andpeople's basements. The courseswere: anthropology (2), business(3), economics (1), English (3),sociology (6), Lakota language (1),math (1), history (1), art (1).

By 1978 we offered courses indouble wide trailers, a condemnedlog cabin and assorted surplusbuildings. We had the followingtwo year degree programs: agricul-ture, business, education, generalstudies, human services, nursingand Lakota studies.

In 1996 we have two new centersbut students in the other eightdistricts attend classes in/thesame double wide trailers, con-demned log cabin and surplusbuildings. Degrees offered include:

Master of Arts in LakotaLeadership/ManagementBachelor of Science in BusinessEducation, Elementary Educa-tion, Human Services, Sociology,Business AdministrationBachelor of Arts in LakotaStudies and HistoryAssociate of Applied Science inOrganic Gardening, Office Auto-mation, Management InformationSystems and Organic AgricultureAssociate of Arts in Accounting,Agriculture, Alcohol and DrugAbuse Studies, Criminal Justice,Early Childhood, ElementaryEducation, General Business,General Studies, Lakota Studies,Natural Resource Management,Nursing, Social Services andCounseling, PreHealth, TribalManagement and TransferDegree

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Other progrgms include secondaryeducation certification, specialeducation endorsement, ChildDevelopment Associate, GeneralEquivalency Diploma and graduatecourses in education, Lakotastudies and human resources, aLakota summer institute, the tribalarchives and the archives of theAmerican Indian Higher EducationConsortium.

OLC serves over 1,000 students asemester. Statistics for Fall, 1995show a total enrollment of 1,009of whom 88% are Indian and 71%are female. Over 90% of OLCstudents are first generationcollege students. Besides Oglala,there are 19 other tribes repre-sented in the student body.

Of over 1,200 graduates, 93% areemployed or pursuing higherdegrees. At Little Wound Elemen-tary School in Kyle, 21 of 26teachers are OLC graduates. At thePine Ridge Hospital, 50% of theregistered nurses are OLC gradu-ates. Three OLC faculty are OLCgraduates.

"0 hc_Ave been ossocintedwith the College since1968 &nd eyne.mbes. thatin 1968 people from theiris

of Soi-d-kDokoto said a cc."11e.deworld neve.p- work on thereservation. Novo OLCprovides 120 jobs andImAnv n.tedec.1 services.

Lowe' Amiotte, formerOLC President

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In 1971 the people who dreamedof and started the College prob-ably never dreamed of what theCollege would be in 1996. Theywere laughed at but forged aheadknowing the need was there andthey had to do something about it.The following list of accomplish-ments is a proud testimony totheir vision.

We conferred our first fourMasters in Lakota Leadership/Management in 1994. We arescheduled to complete construc-tion of the Woksape Tipi LearningResource Center in October, 1996.We are working with the NationalScience Foundation and NASA tobe a Model Institution for Excel-lence to develop degrees inEnvironmental Science, ComputerScience and Preengineering to beoffered through distance learningto five tribal colleges.

We attained full Accreditation forthe AA in Nursing from the SouthDakota Board of Nursing. We werethe only nursing school in SouthDakota to have 100% of graduatespass their Nursing Boards in 1995.We achieved re-accreditation forthe Bachelor of Science in Elemen-tary Education from the SouthDakota Board of Education.

We obtained a five year grant fromthe Department of EducationStrengthening Institutions pro-gram to upgrade the college'scomputer systems for research,finance, student support and

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instruction. We are working withthe Kellogg Foundation to explorefurther graduate options underthe Masters in Lakota Leadershipincluding school principal en-dorsement and the possibility ofoffering the degree to all tribalcolleges.

Our enrollments keep growing.Our young people are thirsting foreducation. Our degrees keepexpanding to supply the variedneeds of the tribe. We are workinghard and making Oglala LakotaCollege respected and successful.In the midst of the successes,every day we deal with burst pipesat broken down facilities, studentswho drop out because of no daycare or transportation, and facultywho are the lowest paid in theregion.

'1011 the other hand, it is of somenote that fewer than five percentof the Reservation's schoolteachers were tribal memberswhen the College began andnow over 25% of the teachersare Lakota. Similarly, when theCollege began a four yeardegree in i-kirnan Services in1985, there were no dativeAmerican case workers in theState Social Services offices inPine 'Ridge or Martin. On 1992almost all case workers wereNative Americans and almostall of them came through theCollege."

Wealth, Poverty and EducationDr. Dowell Smith, 1994

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My Backsp.otAvAcl

StArroLinding me arefull -moon shadowson the tree covered hillsideAbove meglittering stars twinkle with silent secretsagainst the prairie sky

Slowlytraveling flleotAshot4t the canyonsstAmmer winds whisper with pine and cedar brancheswhere, lot,,d in the powerFAI silence of the prairie nights,owl calls owland coyotes cry like womenor frightened children

and in the distance/thesilhouetteof the Heart of Everything That Jslarge and breathtakinglooms

Ondian Country

Debra White Plume

Before *Mere Was a 50119At,

The tall prairie grasses lay, in silenceBefore there was a song,

They swayed in golden rays of setting sun,in silence

Before there was a sorts,The new moon, i+ bathed the blades inblueish white, in silence

Before there was a song,The tips glistened from drops of morningdew, in silence

Before there was a song,The song, i+ echoed through the winds,

,/The song, it 'greeted the new moonThe song, it to/Ached the morning sunThe meadow lark, it sung.

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Sean Caudle

J

Our People"And J saw the sacred hoop ofmy people was one of manyhoops that made one circle, wideas daylight and as starlight, andin the center grew one mightyflowering tree to shelter all thechildren of one mother and onefather. And J saw that it washoly."

Black Elk, Oglala holy man

"OLC means a lot to thecommunity."

Duane Locke, Pahin SinteCenter Director

"To go where no one has daredto go. We do things people saidcouldn't be done. OLC is willingand able to change and moveforward. Every year we try newthings."

Emory New Holy, formerWhite Clay Center Director

"Oglala Lakota College hasplayed a major role in my familylife and education. OLCprovided direction in my lifeafter returning home to the PineRidge Reservation with my twogirls. OLC made it possible forme to graduate with aBachelors and theencouragement of staff andinstructors motivated me tocomplete a Masters inCounseling."

Devona Lone Wolf, OLCHuman Services Instructor

The graduation pow wow is the high point ofevery year.

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"We are decentralized but weare a family."

John Yellow Bird Steele,President, Og lala Sioux Tribe andformer Board of Trustees member

"" OLC provides a closeconnection between theacademic world and reality."

Paul Robertson, Facultymember

"The College gives our peoplemore opportunities to makechoices."

Pat Lee, former Lakota StudiesDepartment Chair, now OglalaSioux Chief Judge

"The Board has a lot of guts tohold a retreat with staff andstudents. We have heated/discussions at Board meetings,but we leave as friends. J amproud to be part of the Board."

Lloyd Eagle Bull, former Boardmember for 15 years

"We focus on students. Wesometimes don't realize howspecial it is to bring students,board members andadministrators together."

Jeanne Smith, General StudiesInstructor and early staff memberin 1971

"We need more space and moresupport. Our staff does so muckwith so little."

Rev. Simon Looking Elk,former Vice-President, currentChaplain at Ft. Meade VeteransHospital

"The College is a way of beingOndian.0 have invented a newform of nepotism. Over the pastyears J have had 15 immediatefamily members get degrees and36 get GED' s."

Pearl Collier, Lacreek CenterDirector

"We learn the techniques weneed to exist in 1987 and alsothe tools to allow us to exist as agroup of people."

George Mackey, Student

"We need to be concerned aboutstudents who drop out. Studentshave many problems - finances,babysitting - but we need to givethem encouragement to stay in."

Stephen Starr, former Boardmember

"Commitment. The Board andCollege administration werecommitted for over three yearsto keep the Nursing Programgoing. Now 01-C has one ofonly two RN programs onreservation in the UnitedStates."

Joan Nelson, Nursing Faculty

"We want our students to beproud of being Indian. Our roleis to see what is good for ourstudents and bring them out Oftheir shells."

Emma Waters, former Boardmember

"We provide education forpeople who otherwise wouldhave no opportunity."

Cordelia White.Elk, formerCommunity Services Coordinator,new Board member

"OLC has-qllowed me to pf..suea dream J have which is to geta law degree. J received myAssociate's and Bachelor'sdegrees. from OLC while beingable to stay with my family."

William Lone Hill, Oglala SiouxTribal Court Worker

We want better classrooms and moresupport for future students.

"When you look at what work isavailable on the reservation thecollege offers degrees in everyarea jobs are available. at'sconvenient to get a degree here.0 went to Huron and Black HillsState before 0 went to OLC.didn't see any difference inquality. There are goodinstructors here. J learned a lot.Ot really helps having a collegehere. J didn't have to leave myland. And it helped with myfamily, 0 have two kids."

Lawrence Janis, BS in HumanServices, Counselor, DrugElimination Program, Boardmember

wouldn't have gone to collegeif 0 had to leave the reservation.0 had six children, four areliving. 0 took care of mygrandson while 0 was some toschool after my son died. 0'm55, 61.41- here 0 wasn't the oldeststudent in my class."

Wanda White Bull, BS inHuman Services, Job TrainingPartnership Act Coordinator

"Going to OLC was goodbecause J didn't have to leavemy home and kids, and J couldwork. 7111 halfway through myMasters. 0 haven't finishedbecause Jim so busy workingand taking care of kids. OLCreally helped me. 0 thank them."

Alice Lone Elk, BS inEducation, teacher at RockyfordSchool, Rockyford

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"My degree in social services ishelpful although 3 work 'QS ajournalist., J wanted to work tohelp Onclians out and workinghere accomplishes that. Cl goton-the-job training. Socialservices helped a lot withinterviewing skillsand withpublic relations. 3ndian studieshelped a lot, too. A lot of myfamily, my mom, both sisters andbrothers all went to 01_C. Mysister went from her AA to herMasters. J would never havebeen able to go to collegeanywhere else. 3 had a family."

Amanda War Bonnet, AA inSocial Services, former Editor,Indian Country Today, pres ,entlymedia Director, Little WoundSchool, Kyle

"Cl had four children of my ownand raised eight nieces andnephews while Cl was going toschool. at was an advantage tobe among people Cl knew: J hadrelatives in classes and knewmost of the people. J wascomfortable with the people. Allmy children who are old enoughhave gone to college or gottentraining after high school."

Joy Bush, BS in Education,teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes,Porcupine

Graduates stand proud for a Lakota honoring song.

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Our Dreams for the FutureWe will complete constructionand furnishing of the WoksapeTipi Learning Resource Centerin the Fall of 1996. This is adream that has taken over tenyears to accomplish. Once it iscompleted it will give us thespace to upgrade the generallibrary collection and OglalaSioux Tribal Archives.

We need to provide adequateclassroom space and commu-nity learning resources bybuilding Learning Centers inPine Ridge, Pahin Suite,Wounded Knee, White Clay,Eagle Nest, Lacreek, PassCreek and Rapid City. Ourstudents attend classes ineverything from a condemnedlog cabin to twenty year olddilapidated double widetrailers with inadequateheating, cooling and space.

) We are developing degrees inenvironmental science,computer science andpreengineering so ourstudents can fill the technicalpositions required to protectthe environment and toappropriately develop thereservation's naturalresources.

We dream of creating en-dowed chairs in LakotaLeadership/Management andLakota Studies. These disci-plines are at the core of ourexistence as a college and apeople and we need to treatthem with the respect theydeserve. We are the only hopefor the preservation andenhancement of the Lakotalanguage.

We will create computerizedoutcome, teaching andassessment program for basicskills to assure that everystudent who comes to usunderprepared-for college canbe prepared for success in themost efficient and effectivemanner.

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We are exploring the expan-sion of the Master's Degree inLakota Leadership/Manage-ment to provide certificationin education, health, etc.There is a tremendous short-age of school principals,especially Lakota. We need toprovide local people with abasis in Lakota language andculture to run our schools,hospital, clinics and othereducational and healthprograms.

We are integrating ourinstitutional research systemto link academic, counseling,financial aid, fiscal and otherdata to support planning,decision-making andfundraising. We need to bemore efficient than othercolleges since we have lessresources and more of a need.

Our staff and students plan for the future.

We dream of meeting theoften expressed basic needs ofour students includingadequate scholarships, betterscheduling, career counseling,day care, transportation,tutoring and placement.

We need to create a compe-tency based teacher educationprogram to provide effectiveteachers for reservationschools. Our current teachereducation program deliverysystem is not providingenough teachers to meet thegreat demand.

We are more than a college.We are the basis of develop-ment for the Lakota Nation.We need to offer research,consulting and trainingservices to tribal programs,elders and communities.

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Our ChallengeOglala Lakota College has nostudent union. We have no dorms.We have no football teams. Ourinstructors are among the lowestpaid college instructors around.They have to travel up to 100miles to class over potholestudded roads often in dangerousweather. Our students live in thepoorest county in the country andoften hitchhike to class. Ourfunding continues to lag farbehind most other colleges in thiscountry.

We do have dedicated students,faculty and staff. We do have astrong culture of fortitude andgenerosity. We do have teacherswho concentrate on teaching. Wedo have students who appreciatethe value of a college education.We do have a strong presence inour community and a strong linkto our Tribe. We do have ourdreams that we will fulfill.

It took us ten years to raise the 1.3million dollars to con-struct the Woksape TipiLearning ResourceCenter. The funds camefrom the Pew CharitableTrust, the Hearst Founda-tion, the Bush Foundationand the generosity ofmore than 3,000 friendsfrom across the countrywho contributed overhalf of the cost.

We've built and should beable to furnish theWoksape Tipi but we stillneed to upgrade our collection ofbooks and audio visual materialsto support our degree programs at

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an acceptable level. We'll put aportion of our budget aside eachyear to purchase materials, but weneed to raise funds from outsidesources.

We estimate it will cost about$500,000 a center, or $4 million,to build all eight District LearningCenters. Construction funds arethe hardest to raise. We're doing acapital campaign, Rebuilding OurNation 2001. We are enlisting asmuch foundation and corporatesupport as possible. We will buildthe centers with the help of ourfriends.

Our students need help withscholarships and day care andtransportation. We need todevelop sustainable programs toprovide assistance.

Lack of funding has limited ourability to provide all we wish tofor our students but it has notstopped us. And it will not stop usin the future.

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OLC was the only school in SouthDakota to have 100% of graduates passtheir Nursing Boards in 1995.

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Our Vision"By lifting our vision, the pettyqutae,els of our daily existencewill be overcome 6y a view ofour future, and our communitieswill emerge as sacred places."

Vine Deloria, Jr., Dakotaphilosopher and author

Our vision for Oglala LakotaCollege in 2001 is that we are athriving institution meeting theneeds of the Oglala Sioux Tribe foreducated and trained humanresources.

A group of visitors to the June 25,2001 graduation walk into theWoksape Tipi Learning ResqurceCenter and marvel at the 50,000volumes/audiovisual materialsand the Internet connection toaccess any library in the world.They move on into the OglalaSioux Tribal Archives and see theexhibit on the Tribal Presidents.

They stroll over to the remodeledPiya Wiconi Administrationbuilding to view the Lakota artshow - the finest collection ofOglala art yet assembled. Theyhear lectures on Lakota art fromthe person who holds the BlackElk Endowed Chair in LakotaStudies.

The visitors travel to Mandersonto visit one of the eight newlybuilt District Learning Centers.They're amazed by the spaciousand attractive building with fullparking lots and natural landscap-ing. They' re further amazed bythe number of computers in eachclassroom, the well equipped daycare room, the well stocked libraryand the van that says WoundedKnee College Center StudentTransportation Co-op.

The visitors return to attendgraduation. The first Mastersgraduates in Lakota EducationalLeadership receive their Mastersdegrees from the President of OLCand their certification as superin-tendents and principals from theGovernor of South Dakota. Thefirst Masters graduates in LakotaHealth Leadership receive theirdegrees. Then a roar goes up asthe first nine graduates of theLakota Linguist/Teacher programreceive their degrees and give oneminute speeches in perfect Lakota.

The President of South DakotaSchool of Mines and Technology ison hand for a special presentationof engineering degrees to the tenstudents who completed the OLCpre-engineering degree and wenton to earn Bachelor's degrees fromSDSM&T.

The 140 graduates include Mas-ters, Bachelors and Associates.The number has gone up becauseof the new computerized studentstatus, counseling and schedulingsystem that's been in place for twoyears.

The roar continues as the Presi-dent of OLC announces that theendowment of Oglala LakotaCollege has reached $10,000,000.The roar intensifies as the Presi-dent announces that OLC will bepursuing accreditation for aDoctor of Lakota Studies degree.An even louder roar goes up asthe OLC Research Director an-nounces the 2000 U.S. Censusshows that for the first time in 30years the Pine Ridge reservationdoes not have the lowest/percapita income in the country.

The visitors eat a healthy dinnerof vegetables from the OLCorganic garden enterprise andbuffalo that has been raised by thestudents of the Holistic Environ-mental Management program.

The visitors are asked to lead thegrand entry of the evening powwow. They are being honored aspart of the 30th anniversary of theCollege. Gerald One Feather, BirgilKills Straight, Jim Hamm, Dowelland Jeanne Smith, Tony Fresquez,Sissy Eagle Bull, Ray Howe, CalvinJumping Bull, and many others. Asthey reflect on the events of theday, some have tears in their eyes.

Others yell out to the backgroundof the drums: "Hoka He, Takoja,ikopesni ihanbla po! Woihanbleogna unipi." "Go for it, Grand-children. Do not be afraid todream. We are living our dream."

Our Vision for the Woksape Tipi Library came true in 1996. We believe our visionsfor 2001 will also come true.

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The-thde,.biecl is at the neck of the mountainsHis feathers have made the sky grey and blueHis screeching is thtAndei.That echoes in the hidden valleys belowHis claws are the lightningThat touch the eavthHis eves shed tearsThat lead to thousands of raindropshis wings and body stretch for milesHe flies with freedomOn hope, to find a peakTo rest his tired bodyBut the searchJs forever endless

Doneiie Lome Hilt

in can 6v,andmother holds,bs the ail,.

to East and Westoeth and Southon and st.m.

clmothee's.weinklecl soft handsnee. waem against my face.She smiles cwd gives me sage ashes

cold 3 hold herliffle hand rIlive.

Debra White Plume

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Organization/Address:Oglala Lakota CollegePiya Wiconi.0. Box 490

Kyle, SD 57752

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